Gratitude Wins

Yes, although I’ll admit it wasn’t always that way; I’m not a “calm” personality by nature so the fact of just slowing down on an entire day of each week was something that took a loooong time to get used to.

But I am getting used to it and really enjoying it too. 🙂

It’s a day to reflect on what the past week entailed and what we look forward to in the coming week. It’s a day to give thanks for all that we have; and this was also a difficult issue at certain times of my life.

I mean, how EASY is it to complain and whine about life “not being fair to us” and “what coulda been”, etc? I’ll admit, I was the first one to believe that I wasn’t guilty of this but it turns out.. I WAS! Go figure! lol Being positive means more than just turning our frowns upside down. It’s about getting back up each and every time that life knocks us down. It’s about not taking it too personally and in finding a NEW way to move ahead again. I know I’ve had my share of complaining about everyone else’s roles in my own struggles and stresses. It was always just easier that way, I guess. Then one day, (if you’re lucky) you wake up and realize that the fingers we are pointing out at everyone else are just pointing right back at us.

Truth.

I used to blame so many people in my life for various reasons. Pick anyone and pick anything and I’m sure I had complained about it before. To my dismay, I’ve been corrected over and over and over again until it just hit me BAM! in the face that much of it had been MY problems in the long run. Was I a ‘bad’ person? No. I was just guilty of allowing certain behaviors to take over what I knew was right and allowing my own negative behaviors to take over when I felt threatened.

And it turns out, I must have felt threatened more often than I really even knew.

The other day, while I was doing my regular self development reading, I came across a verse stating that we cannot expect anybody else to love US more than they can love THEMSELVES.

BAM! Tears started streaming down my face as I realized how many people I had incorrectly judged over my life. How unfair I had treated others by assuming that they weren’t giving it their all or being selfish in their love for me and all I believed to be right and true. I had been unfair in my judgments and am working on righting that behavior in my mind and in my actions.

Today, I reflected on that while we enjoyed, truly enjoyed the family time together. Instead of getting caught up in what most of us think we want more of; power, money, authority, or whatever…

there’s nothing more we need than what most of us have in front of us today; family, love, friendship, understanding.

These are the true blessings in life and should be what we all strive to share more of with others…